DBS chief Tan Su Shan says AI's capital crunch is coming and investors want returns

The biggest bank in Southeast Asia just told the AI boom that the bill is coming due, darling.

DBS CEO Tan Su Shan said in an interview with Bloomberg Television last Monday that the market is repricing the risks of the AI buildup. "The market has spoken," she said. Investors are asking for higher returns and looking harder at deal structures, she added, so the money flowing into AI capex can eventually be repaid to debt, bond and equity holders. Weaker firms might see credit ratings revised downward. Tan called the broader repricing of risk "healthy," saying it helps ensure financial commitments are sustainable.

The numbers are glittering. DBS has originated about S$25 billion (US$19.5 billion) of AI deals this year, often as lead manager on syndicated loans, and has held only a fraction, according to Taipei Times. Most of it funds hardware, from chips and memory to data centers. Rates are rising and global bond yields have surged to their highest in decades. PwC estimates Asia's data center spending could reach US$8.2 trillion by 2050.

Tan told Semafor that shortages in memory, chips and power will soon be joined by "shortages in capital," and that hyperscalers are moving from cash generators to "massive cash guzzlers."

My take: when the person writing the checks says the party needs discipline, the room goes quiet. Trillions are on the table, and the lenders now want receipts. Glorious.